Selection Of Sustainable Building Materials Research Articles

Determining the importance levels of criteria in selection of sustainable building materials and obstacles in their use

The construction industry has become the focal point of sustainability as one of the largest con- sumers of natural resources and waste producers. A sustainable construction industry is possible with the sustainability of building materials, which is the main factor controlling the construc- tion management process. In this research, the importance levels of a total of 17 criteria under the headings of economic, environmental, and social sustainability in terms of sustainability of building materials and the importance levels of 11 obstacles to the use of sustainable materials were investigated through a survey conducted with the participation of 60 people. Whether there were differences between the participants’ opinions was investigated through inferential analysis. In ranking criteria according to their importance level, the health of workers and cit- izens, safety in construction and operation, and toxic emissions took the first three places. The risks of higher initial cost, total cost, and extra time are the biggest obstacles to using sustainable materials. In addition, the obstacles were subjected to factor analysis, and a model consisting of four factors was created. The study revealed the criteria for sustainable material selection and the barriers to sustainable material use in a holistic manner. In this respect, it is evaluated that it will be a guide for governments, local governments, building material manufacturers, designers, contractors, and ultimately users to achieve a more sustainable construction sector.

A Personalized Individual Semantic Extraction Model Based on Criterion for Adaptive Consensus Reaching Process Under Improved Basic Uncertain Linguistic Environment

Personalized individual semantics (PIS) is an important factor reflecting the personal habits of decision makers (DMs) and has been widely studied by scholars. Using criteria as a non-negligible information source in multi-criteria group decision making (MCGDM), how to extract PIS from it is a research gap to be solved. In addition, existing measurements of consensus are insufficiently sensitive to differences between individuals, while the current direction rules use a matrix as the unit of measurement, which is not detailed and precise enough. Therefore, this paper first constructs a PIS extraction model according to the principle that similar criteria have similar descriptions and mutually exclusive criteria have dissimilar descriptions. Secondly, the preference information of PIS is mingled with uncertainty and reliability of improved basic uncertain linguistic information (IBULI) as the data of the consensus reaching algorithm. The proposed consensus algorithm not only fully considers the dispersion of DMs in the consensus measurement stage, but also improves the objectivity of the consensus process through an adaptive feedback stage. Finally, the validity of the proposed model is verified by an example and comparative analysis of the selection of sustainable building materials.

A review of sustainability applications in the construction industry: perspectives and challenges

Introduction. One of the main causes of annual environmental degradation directly or indirectly is construction. The purpose of this study is to highlight current environmental issues in the construction industry. Besides how the construction sector can contribute to reducing the negative impact on the environment and creating “healthy buildings” that can be sustainable for both residents and our environment.
 Materials and methods. An overall literature survey was carried out to get relevant information and provide an overview of the current situation regarding the applications of sustainability in the construction industry. According to the selected theme, an inclusive investigation was conducted using several databases, such as Google Scholar, Scopus, eLIBRARY.RU,and ScienceDirect. Many crucial key words, such as environmental sustainability, social sustainability, economic sustainability, sustainable development, environmental issues, etc. Were used to extract data on the sustainability issues in the construction industry. The primary data was compiled in the form of tables and figures. In most cases,the emphasis was on recent data.
 Results. The most common methods for modelling sustainable construction indicators are described below, as well asthe sustainable construction materials that have been used recently.
 Conclusions. Building information modelling (BIM) appears is the single most commonly used technology today. With the development of computer technology, BIM is increasingly being used in combination with other techniques to achieve sustainable building goals. Careful selection of sustainable building materials may be the quickest way for builders to start integrating sustainable building design concepts.

Informatic Analysis and Review of Literature on the Optimum Selection of Sustainable Materials Used in Construction Projects

The dramatic increase in urban population has led to rapid infrastructure development worldwide and the construction industry has become one of the most progressive sectors in the world today. As a result, the construction process and its related stages play a significant role in the environment's impact, both directly (via resource and energy consumption as well as the production of contamination and waste) and indirectly (through intense pressure on inadequate infrastructures). Consequently, there is a global drive to develop “environmental-friendly and sustainable, “green” and carbon reducing buildings”. Implementing sustainability can improve the quality of our life, granting us a healthy life and promoting economic, social, and environmental circumstances. The optimal selection of sustainable building materials is acknowledged as the most fundamental way for designers to apply sustainability principles to construction projects. This Paper provides a comprehensive literature review for sustainability maximization through the material selection process. The paper performs an analysis of the previous studies related to sustainable material selectionto identify the critical factors and knowledge gaps that should be considered in the material selection process. Finally, the paper concludes that the current literature in the building domain lacks a standard method that could help decision-makers selectthe appropriate materials by considering all factors that arise in the decision-making process to maximize sustainability in buildings. Furthermore, a need exists to fill the gap between designers and decision-makers in the sustainable construction industry for improving the selection process of sustainable building materials while at the same time looking at the accomplishment of environmental goals and meeting design and budget requirements

Selection of Sustainable Building Material Using Multicriteria Decision-Making Model: A Case of Masonry Work in Lideta Subcity, Addis Ababa

In today’s world, where the need for construction projects is increasing from time to time, especially in developing countries such as Ethiopia, sustainability issues and principles were not exercised by construction professionals during the material selection process. At the initial stage, the designer considers materials he/she is familiar with. However, their assumption may not work because the structure that is going to be developed may be different from the previous one. Thus, the designer shall consider sustainability issues during the design period. This article will guide construction stakeholders in the selection of sustainable building materials, specifically masonry materials in the Ethiopian construction industry. The research was carried out in the Addis Ababa Lideta subcity, to identify sustainable building materials for masonry work. The selection process is not depending on a single factor rather it depends on multifactors. The identification was carried out through exploring factors affecting the selection of sustainable building materials for masonry work. The weights of identified factors were determined by pairwise comparison among the factors under consideration. The research is of the empirical type which uses mathematical formula, matrix concept, and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) as a model. In this method, pairwise comparisons were made among the criteria and subcriteria so that the weights of the criteria or subcriteria/or alternative on the bases of the indicated criteria were computed. Then, prioritization was made on the bases of the weight of the criteria. Finally, an alternative with a high score shall be selected. The article identifies the major factor affecting the selection of sustainable building materials for masonry work as social benefit, performance capability, sustainability of the material to reduce environmental impact, waste minimization, resource efficiency, and life cycle cost of the material. Under each criterion, there are number of subcriteria contributed to them. On the basis of the above criteria, 4 alternatives (stone, brick, CEB, and cement block) were proposed from which compressed Earth block (CEB) was selected.

LCA based recommendations for the selection of eco-concretes using blast furnace slag and fly ash

The development of circular economy models for the construction sector brings important challenges and opportunities to research and particularly to make knowledge transfer, for example through public policies. Santiago de Cali, third major city of Colombia (South America), is developing a circular economy model policy, which is mainly based on waste valorisation. Among others, the model includes a family of eco-concrete products that replaces Portland cement by blast furnace slag and fly ash coming from local industries. Therefore, the aim of this research is to develop scientific based recommendations to stakeholders for the selection of different concrete products (i.e. beams, columns, slabs) using blast furnace slag and fly ash (eco-concretes). Considering that life cycle assessment (LCA) is the most employed tool for consolidating, comparing, and assessing sustainability impacts [1], the LCA of these concrete products for the design of a sustainable residential house was performed. The LCA software Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) was selected for the study. Results include a discussion on the environmental impacts. Furthermore, a methodology for the selection of sustainable building materials is presented.

Envisaging Sustainable Building Materials for Earthen Construction Practices

Cost-effective construction practices generally rely on the selection of sustainable building materials irrespective of their environmental responsiveness and adaptability towards developing a comforting habitat. Present study aims to address the feasibility of developing soil-based building blocks using natural and recyclable materials by following modified adobe method. Unburnt bricks were manufactured from native red soil using optimized proportion of low cost binders and tested for their durability and thermal behaviour under various experimental conditions. An equi-molal binary mixture of cement and lime (15% each) was turned out to be the best combination to provide excellent compressive strength (6.43±0.15 N/mm2). As per the rate of water absorption and stabilization during the curing process, impounded bricks provided better results compared to the mat curing and spray curing. The rate of change in surface temperature of bricks added with lime and cement showed slightly lower values for cooling cycles (0.2°C/min to 0.5°C/min) compared to the heating cycles (0.6°C/min to 1.0°C/min) when exposed to solar radiation. The prepared bricks are found to be economic by reducing the construction cost by 40% on material. Based on the results, the red soil bricks provide an excellent choice as a sustainable building blocks to meet the increasing housing requirements.

The Percentage Result, as Well as a Critical Review of the Common Characteristics of Various Sustainable Building Material Selection Frameworks

There are various frameworks for selecting sustainable building materials around the globe. However, it is difficult to get literature that describes their common characteristics, so the purpose of this paper is to try to provide a general framework for architects, and designers based on the literature review only. After conducting a thorough and systematic literature review, the number of observations for each data point shown as a percentage frequency distribution, which typically represented using tables. The process of creating a percentage frequency distribution entails first determining the total number of sustainable building material selection categories (such as economic, environmental, technical, social, and so on) to be represented, then identifying sustainable building material items (subcategories) within each category based on different authors' ideas to be represented. Finally, a general framework for sustainable building material selection developed. Finally, the proposed framework, which based on the sustainable triple bottom line concept, includes three dimensions: different authors frequently select economics (72%), environment (54%), and social (36%). Alternatively, it convert into a percentage of a hundred, it will be 44.50%, 33.3%, and 22.2%, respectively. As a result, we can conclude that when a designer selects a material, it is better to consider the three critical dimensions that are economic, environmental, and social factors.

Developing Theoretical Sustainable Building Material Selection Framework for Ethiopia

The construction industry regarded as one of the pivotal aspects of achieving the objectives of sustainable development in communities. In this regard, the choice of building materials is one of the challenges in order to improve program performance with respect to sustainable development, and the use of sustainable materials is an effective step towards achieving sustainable construction. Selection of sustainable building materials represents an important strategy in the design and construction of buildings in Ethiopia. One of the principal challenges is the process of prioritizing and aggregating relevant criteria into a selection framework. Therefore, the purpose of this framework in building projects is to look at the complexity of the interactions between sustainability building materials and architects and to set up a knowledge-based decision support system. After conducting a thorough literature review, case study (BREEAM, LEED, CASBEE, LBC, and G-SEED), questionnaire, and discussion with selected experts, 27 sustainable building material selection criteria items identified based on the sustainable triple bottom line. A survey of Ethiopian architectural firms was conducted to capture their awareness of sustainable building materials. A total of 199 registered offices, based on Ethiopia's construction ministry in 2021. From among these, 51 offices chosen, as a sample size randomly. One of the study's limitations is that it excludes other stakeholders, such as the client, who may have an influence on material selection. Another drawback is that since elements are used to organize materials and components, Ratings are thus based solely on product performance within each constituent group. On the other hand, this study excluded several items. For example, "products" such as lighting, water fixtures, HVAC, and electrical fixtures are not included.

Selection of Sustainable Materials for Energy Savings of Infrastructure-Transportation Project in Ahmedabad, India Using BIM and FCM

This study aims to develop a methodology for the selection of sustainable building materials for the reduction of embodied and operational energy for a complex infrastructure transportation project, i.e., elevated metro rail station of Ahmedabad, India by application of building information modelling (BIM) and factor comparison method (FCM). Evaluation of the alternative building materials and designs to obtain the best energy efficiency has been carried out using Revit Architecture 2018 and Green Building Studio. The achieved average embodied energy savings is about 73%, which is by the suggested alternative materials instead of existing ones. By application of FCM, which is a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) technique, it has been observed that the polished Kota-stone flooring, stone-floor tile cladding, toughened fibre-glass ceiling and insulated fibre-glass door appear to be the most feasible sustainable material for flooring, wall cladding, ceiling, openings and fenestrations for the design of the metro rail station box in Ahmedabad, India. This study contributes significant knowledge in the field by highlighting the application of BIM as a tool for sustainable development and recommends a few alternate building materials and sustainable designs which would result in the reduction of energy usage for the metro-rail-station and other building structures leading to a sustainable future.

Sustainable building material selection: An integrated multi-criteria large group decision making framework

In the past decades, the rapid urbanisation has driven the prosperity of building industry, which, however, has led to the consumption of enormous amounts of energy and resources and the continued deterioration of the environment owing to its unsustainable development. These outcomes impact seriously the ecosystems and human health. In order to promote the sustainable performance of building sector, the widely adoption of sustainable building materials has been considered as one of the most promising ways toward this endeavor. This paper aims at addressing the problem of sustainable building material selection (SBMS) under uncertain context by developing an integrated multi-criteria large-group decision-making framework. In the proposed framework, the assessment information is characterised in the form of Improved Basic Uncertain Linguistic Information (IBULI), which incorporates reliable degrees of decision experts that can accurately quantify subjective assessment information provided under uncertainty. The weights of assessment criteria for SBMS are determined by the Quality Function Deployment-based method that is capable of accommodating the influences of multiple stakeholders and the fields of conflicts amongst them. Subsequently, the assessment information given by a large-group of decision experts are aggregated by IBULI-aggregation operators guided by an IBULI-based correlation- and consensus-driven clustering method, which achieves the classification of large-scale decision experts and the satisfied consensus level simultaneously. The selection of sustainable building materials is eventually accomplished by the IBULI-based Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution method. Finally, an illustrative example accompanied by sensitivity and comparative analyses is performed to verify the rationality and feasibility of the proposed model.

Model for the Sustainable Material Selection by Applying Integrated Dempster-Shafer Evidence Theory and Additive Ratio Assessment (ARAS) Method

The construction industry is a vital part of the modern economic system. Construction work often has significant negative impacts on the environment and sustainable economic development, such as degradation of the environment, depletion of resources, and waste generation. Therefore, environmental concerns must be taken into account when evaluating and making decisions in the construction industry. In this regard, sustainable construction is considered as the best way to avoid resource depletion and address environmental concerns. Selection of sustainable building materials is an important strategy in sustainable construction that plays an important role in the design and construction phase of buildings. The assessment of experts is one of the most important steps in the material selection process, and their subjective judgment can lead to unpredictable uncertainty. The existing methods cannot effectively demonstrate and address uncertainty. This paper proposes an integrated Dempster-Shafer (DS) theory of evidence and the ARAS method for selecting sustainable materials under uncertainty. The Dempster-Shafer Evidence Theory is a relatively new and appropriate tool for substantiating decisions when information is nonspecific, ambiguous, or conflicting. The Additive Ratio Assessment (ARAS) method has many advantages to deal with MCDM problems with non-commensurable and even conflicting criteria and to obtain the priority of alternatives based on the utility function. The proposed method converts experts’ opinions into the basic probability assignments for real alternatives, which are suitable for DS evidence theory. It uses the ARAS method to obtain final estimation results. Finally, a real case study identifying the priority of using five possible alternative building materials demonstrates the usefulness of the proposed approach in addressing the challenges of sustainable construction. Four main criteria including economic, social, environmental, and technical criteria and 25 sub-criteria were considered for the selection of sustainable materials. The specific case study using the proposed method reveals that the weight of economic, socio-cultural, environmental, and technical criteria are equal to 0.327, 0.209, 0.241, and 0.221, respectively. Based on these results, economic and environmental criteria are determined as the most important criteria. The results of applying the proposed method reveal that aluminum siding with a final score of 0.538, clay brick with a score of 0.494, and stone façade with a final score of 0.482 are determined as the best alternatives in terms of sustainability.

Linguistic intuitionistic fuzzy PROMETHEE method based on similarity measure for the selection of sustainable building materials

Linguistic intuitionistic fuzzy PROMETHEE method based on similarity measure for the selection of sustainable building materials

Sustainable building material selection: A case study in a Japanese context

The aim of this study was to demonstrate how the choice of building material affects the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associate with the material production phase of a reference building in a Japanese context. The trend of the emission and carbon storage capacity among the five structural frame options was analysed at building, building element and material levels. Based on the results, main points to mitigate the impact were also discussed. Since there thus far been few similar studies in Japan, to aid informed decision making by professionals in the construction industry was aimed, leading to improved sustainability in building design, especially connected to SDGs 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure), 12 (Responsible construction and production) and 13 (Climate action).

Dynamic greenhouse gas life cycle inventory and impact profiles of wood used in Canadian buildings

Wood is increasingly promoted due to its reported low climate change impacts; however, the literature reports provides high variability of climate change impact scores, making comparisons with non-wood materials difficult. The objective of this study is to calculate a database of life cycle inventories (LCI) and dynamic climate change impacts (DCCI) of wood building products, for different use contexts across Canada. Temporally differentiated gate-to-gate LCIs were developed, to which dynamic life cycle assessment (DLCA) was applied, yielding a modular database of cradle-to-grave LCIs and DCCIs of wood products. Four wood product case studies were chosen to demonstrate the use of the modular LCI and DCCI database of wood product use in buildings. The results show that most wood building products provide overall net negative climate change impact scores, though for some wood product specifications results show net positive climate change impacts. Results are sensitive to a few factors, including ecosystem carbon cost (ECC), wood carbon content, building lifespan and end-of-life. This research develops a gate-to-gate LCI and DCCI database for each life cycle stage of wood building products, allowing life cycle assessment (LCA) practitioners to calculate DCCI results with respect to a chosen time horizon relevant for decision-making. This modular database would be particularly useful to those practitioners wishing to account for biogenic carbon in wood product life cycle assessment, which is currently quite difficult due to a lack of data. It could also be readily implemented into LCA tools to support building designers in sustainable building material selection.

Sustainable building material selection: A QFD- and ELECTRE III-embedded hybrid MCGDM approach with consensus building

Industrialization and urbanization have led to the rapid development of the building industry. To alleviate the adverse impact on the environment, natural resources, health and comfort of inhabitants, sustainable principles have been incorporated into the design, construction, decoration, operation, and maintenance of buildings. Among all these endeavors, sustainable building material selection is diffusely regarded as the simplest and most essential way of achieving sustainability. To this end, this paper develops a novel hybrid multi-criteria group decision making model for sustainable building material selection under uncertainty. The information representation construction used for alternative-criteria assessments in this model is a brand-new notion called Basic Uncertain Linguistic Information, which is capable of handling the qualitative performance estimates as well as its partial reliability. Multiple stakeholders are usually responsible for sustainable building material selection, and therefore, the fact that multiple perspectives are involved in the collective decision-making efforts is revealed by a Consensus Reaching Process to reach a decision reflecting at least a majority-based agreement among them. The Quality Function Deployment-based approach to determining comprehensive importance ratings of assessment criteria is further proposed to take into account diversifying sustainable building material requirements from different stakeholders. Subsequently, the ELECTRE III methodology, which models the heterogeneity and non-compensation among assessment criteria as well as their qualitative essence, is introduced to determine the ultimate priorities of alternative sustainable building materials. Finally, sensitive and comparative analyses are performed to verify the advantages of the proposed model in comparison with several existing methodologies.

Modeling environmental impacts and risk under data uncertainties

ABSTRACTIn this article, we propose a methodology to evaluate the risk of environmental and life cycle impacts under data uncertainties that can be applied to a broad range of data availability assumptions. Specifically, we first propose a data uncertainty model that can accommodate scenarios where only a few data points are known, where data histograms are available, or where multiple, inconsistent data sources are present. An impact risk valuation model is then developed, based on the certainty equivalent of an exponential dis-utility function. We show that the evaluation of the impact risk value can be achieved using a closed-form expression and demonstrate an application in a food waste recycling alternatives comparison. We further extend the methodology to construct an impact safety index model that evaluates uncertain impacts using an impact tolerance level. We show that the proposed model is computationally tractable and can be used as an optimization criterion. Computational studies in an example of sustainable building material selection are then used to demonstrate the improvement of the proposed model compared with the standard approach of optimizing average impacts across several statistical criteria.

Measuring perception about sustainability of building materials in Kosovo

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop the empirically tested framework about the knowledge and perception about sustainability of building materials in Prishtina, Kosovo from the perspective of users, construction industry and facility managers.Design/methodology/approachA survey of representative sections of the population was designed and carried out in the capital city of Kosovo to determine the knowledge and perception of the population about the sustainability of building materials and to determine the main criteria of selection of sustainable building materials. The study may be used as guidelines for sustainable real estate developers in Prishtina during the materials selection process. Qualitative interviews were conducted with architects, consulting engineering companies, construction companies and facility managers from the region of Prishtina with open-ended questions also being used.FindingsResults of quantitative research find that embodied energy, durability and low energy consumption are used as key criteria that influence the materials selection process on the part of users. The results of the cross-case analysis of qualitative measure the perceptions of construction industry and facility managers, according to which durability to a large degree is the main criterion for selection of sustainable building materials followed by embodied energy and low energy consumption.Research limitations/implicationsThe study of measurement of level of knowledge and perception about sustainability of building materials in Kosovo focuses only on one pilot city; hence, further research is needed throughout Kosovo to validate the empirically tested tool within other geographical settings in Kosovo.Originality/valueThis survey represents the first quantification of knowledge and perception regarding the sustainability of building materials among users, construction sector and facility managers.

Framework for Sustainable Low-Income Housing Projects using Building Information Modeling

Governments in developing countries serve low income people by constructing low income housing projects. Most of total life cycle cost (LCC) of these projects is incurred during the operational phase, making these projects lose their economic aspect of sustainability. Decreasing the cost of low income housing projects and taking into consideration the available resources are two crucial facets that should be taken into consideration. Therefore, this paper focuses on two aspects of the sustainability of building through its life cycle, which are environmental and economic aspects using environmentally friendly materials in construction. To accomplish this aim, a framework is developed that integrates Building Information Modeling (BIM) with computer simulation, optimization and system dynamics in Low Income Housing (LIH) projects. The developed framework helps in determining LIH project duration and selecting the optimum alternative with to material systems. The sustainability aspects of building are achieved by considering a LCC of these buildings and the number of points that can be awarded under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. It aids government and/or contractors in adopting BIM technology to minimize life cycle cost while achieving maximum LEED materials credits points for LIH projects. Social Housing project in Badr City-Egypt is considered as a case study to demonstrate the use of the developed prototype and to illustrate its essential features. The results have shown that selection of sustainable building materials for the construction has a crucial role in the formation of a sustainable building as they affect the performance of building. Therefore, the Egyptian government should consider building materials with sustainable properties and a low LCC in the design phase to mitigate the negative impacts of LIH projects.

Understanding barriers affecting the selection of sustainable materials in building projects

The selection of sustainable building materials has been identified as an important strategy in the design of a building. Although the sustainability imperative is gaining in importance, there are still major barriers preventing this’‘new style’ architectural practice becoming the norm. This paper examines the major barriers encountered in the selection of sustainable building materials among building construction professionals in Nigeria. A questionnaire survey was developed to capture the perception of construction professionals regarding the significance of the identified barriers as it affects the selection and use of sustainable building materials. Case studies of three completed building projects were conducted with design team to validate the result of the survey. Research results show that perception of extra cost being incurred and lack of sustainable material information are identified as the top barriers to sustainable materials selection. The paper concludes with suggestions and actions that can help overcome these existing barriers.